Mt. Vesuvius: Hiking the Infamous Volcano

Few mountains have the notorious reputation of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy. This is, after all, the volcano that laid waste to Pompeii 2,000 years ago – and which continues to threaten the area around Naples with the potential for earthquakes and eruptions. Still, most of the time the mountain merely serves as an impressive backdrop to vacation photos, looming large over its landscape. Vesuvius doesn’t need to remain on the horizon, however, since you can actually hike it.

Mount Vesuvius (it’s Monte Vesuvio in Italian) is less than six miles from the city of Naples, and it’s more than 4,200 feet tall – so it’s visible and prominent almost everywhere you go. The mountain looks like it’s got two peaks – the larger one is the part that’s still active, while the smaller one is the side of what used to be a much larger volcano before it collapsed thousands of years ago. The last major eruption was in 1944, which destroyed a few villages, and since then most of the volcanic activity is in the form of steam being released.